The new horror film, The Inhabitants, opens with a series of black-and-white clips of the various guests at the March Carriage Bed and Breakfast.  The clips appear to have been recorded by a hidden camera and what’s disturbing is that none of these guests — as they undress, sleep, brush their teeth, make love, and do everything else that you might do while staying at a hotel for the night — are aware that they are being recorded and that they are being watched.

I have to admit that one reason why this opening got to me is that I’ve spent the night in places like the March Carriage Bed and Breakfast.  In fact, I love staying in and exploring hotels whenever I’m traveling or on vacation.  I think that anyone who has ever stayed at a hotel is aware of that feeling that you sometimes get, in the middle of the night, that someone might be watching you.  I mean, think about it.  You’re in a town where nobody knows you.  You’re in a bed that’s not your own.  You have no idea who slept in that bed before you and you don’t know who will sleep in that bed after you.  You don’t know who is sleeping in the room next to you.  And you don’t know what might or might not be happening in the rest of the hotel.  At that moment, you are probably more vulnerable then you’ll ever be.   Would it surprise me to learn that I had secretly been filmed while staying at a hotel?  Actually, it would surprise me if I hadn’t.

But, the thing is, we force ourselves not to think about those possibilities.  Because, honestly, what else can we do?  Sleep in our car?  Sleep on the street?  Camp in the wilderness where we’ll be even more vulnerable?  So, we tell ourselves that there’s nothing to worry about and we force ourselves to believe it and we hope that nothing will happen that will force us to realize how wrong we are.

I think that’s why haunted house films are so effective.  We all know what it’s like to find ourselves in a new or strange place and we’ve all had that experience of wondering whether that sudden feeling of fear is legitimate or if it’s just a case of our imagination going wild.  We watch a haunted house film knowing and fearing that moment when the characters (and, by extension, us) are going to be forced to realize that their fear was legitimate.

From the start, with that hidden camera footage of people at their most vulnerable, The Inhabitants is a haunted house film that works.  When we first meet married couple Dan (Michael Reed) and Jessica (Elise Courture), we like them immediately.  They’re young, attractive, and obviously in love.  From the minute that we learn that they’re going to buy the March Carriage Bed and Breakfast, we find ourselves wanting to yell, “Don’t do it!” because we know that we are watching a haunted house film and these things never end well.

And really, it’s the likability of Dan and Jessica that make this film effective.  We relate to them and we don’t want to see anything bad happen to them.  The frequent complaint about characters in horror movies is that they’re always doing something stupid but neither Dan nor Jessica does anything that the viewer wouldn’t do in a similar situation.  They’re just trying to move into their home and get the unpacking done.  But, of course, what they don’t realize is that, way back in the 17th century, the March Carriage Bed and Breakfast was occupied by a witch.  And, as quickly becomes apparent, Dan and Jessica are not alone in the house.

So, I’m not going to spoil the movie in this review by giving you too many plot details.  The Inhabitants is an atmospheric throw-back to the haunted house films of the past.  The fog-covered landscape, the haunted inn, and a creepy cellar all served to remind me of Lucio Fulci’s classic Beyond trilogy while the film’s dream-like atmosphere and its haunted heroine reminded me of the classic, Let’s Scare Jessica To Death.  The Inhabitants, distinguished by the empathetic performances of Michael Reed and Elise Couture, is a worthy addition to the genre.

The Inhabitants will be released on VOD on October 13th!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULDfLrnhjw